52
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"Ah, Your Excellency...!"
Her curly hair was scattered across the white bedsheets. Aileen, clutching the lilies, looked up at Cesare.
With the large man looming over her like a beast, she felt as though she would be devoured at any moment. This feeling was amplified by the vivid glow emanating from his crimson eyes, even in the darkness.
He braced himself on either side of Aileen's head, meeting her gaze intently. The longer their eyes met, the more anxious Aileen became. Eventually, unable to withstand it any longer, Aileen gently turned her head to the side, and he commanded in a soft voice,
"Look at me."
A man accustomed to giving orders knew the method well. Aileen immediately looked back at him.
Cesare supported himself with one arm and toyed with Aileen's lips with his other hand. The texture of the leather glove against her lips created a strange sensation.
The bedroom, lit only by a small lamp, was veiled in a soft darkness. As he touched her lips, Aileen's breathing gradually became erratic. When her breathing was completely irregular, Aileen barely managed to speak.
"You've arrived...?"
It was a belated greeting. A shy attempt to alleviate her embarrassment and awkwardness, but for some reason, it seemed to please Cesare.
"...Yes."
He slowly pulled Aileen into his arms. Her soft skin was pressed against the hard parts of his uniform, like the medals and buttons. A dizzying sensation washed over her, and she tried to bring her legs together, but she couldn't move because his thick thigh was already between them.
With their bodies completely intertwined, Cesare whispered a soft reply in Aileen's ear.
"I'm back, Aileen."
He smelled faintly of alcohol. As the groom of the wedding, he seemed to have accepted all the drinks offered by the guests. Aileen, embraced by him, secretly sniffed.
The smell of alcohol from her father had always been repulsive. Whenever her father came home drunk, she would open all the windows to ventilate the house.
But strangely, Cesare was different. The smell of alcohol from him was moderately bitter and sweet. It was probably because he had drunk a lot of fruit wine.
While Aileen was secretly sniffing, Cesare also took a deep breath and exhaled. He gently licked Aileen's neck with his tongue.
He licked and sucked as if eating candy, then slowly bit down with his teeth. Not satisfied with just leaving teeth marks, he pressed his lips firmly and sucked hard.
Only after staining her neck with red marks did he release her lips. He licked his own lips with his tongue and was about to remove Aileen's Night Robe when,
"Achoo," she sneezed. Aileen sniffled and apologized.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency."
Cesare started laughing, and Aileen's face quickly turned red. She had even worn a somewhat suggestive Night Robe, but she had ruined the mood with a sneeze. At this rate, she would have no excuse even if she were treated like a child.
He chuckled for a long time. Cesare, who had been gently rubbing his face against Aileen's hair scattered on the bed, asked with a voice full of laughter.
"Are you cold?"
"Yes. But not much, just a little. Actually, there's not much difference between now and when I'm naked. But the reason I suddenly sneezed, I think, is because I touched Your Excellency's uniform. The medals and buttons... things like that. They're a bit cold, after all."
Aileen diligently explained the reason. Cesare, still chuckling, got up. As he stepped down from the bed, Aileen also sat up.
"You're the first to ask me to take off my clothes."
Aileen was about to say that wasn't what she meant, but she closed her mouth. On second thought, that was exactly what she meant.
"W-Well, if we're going to do it anyway..."
She tried to answer vaguely, but there was no confidence in her voice. She had already prepared herself for the wedding night, but she didn't know much. The only sexual acts Aileen knew were the ones Cesare had taught her.
"I have to take them off. Since my wife is telling me to."
He unbuttoned the collar of his uniform in front of Aileen. He unfastened each button, starting from the top one. As he then undid the shirt buttons as if tearing them off, his collarbone was revealed below his thick Adam's apple.
"Gasp," Aileen inhaled sharply, and in the meantime, all the buttons were undone. His firm chest and abdomen were clearly visible.
Unlike him, who was unconcerned about undressing in front of others, Aileen was experiencing this for the first time in her life. Aileen's ear, revealed between her hair, was already bright red. Cesare, looking at her small ear reddened with blood, asked casually.
"Do you want to touch?"
Aileen's eyes widened at the incredible suggestion. Then, she trembled, turning her white face pitifully red.
"Excuse me? Me? Your Excellency, no, Cesare-nim?"
"You don't want to?"
"No, it's not that I don't want to. It's just too sudden, ah!"
He grabbed Aileen's hand and arbitrarily placed it on his chest. Aileen flinched as if she had touched a poisonous chemical with her bare hands.
"I, I, I need time to prepare myself...!"
Regardless, Cesare grabbed Aileen's hand and moved it as he pleased. He made her touch his thick chest muscles and stroked her palm so that the tip of her breast was caught. Then, he lowered her hand to his abs. She could feel the rough texture of the precisely divided muscles.
Aileen helplessly touched every part of his upper body. All the while, she fidgeted and muttered not to do this, but on the other hand, she swallowed hard.
It was a muscle created through numerous battles, not for aesthetic purposes. Nevertheless, it was beautiful. Aileen, feeling the healthy and elastic texture of his skin, thought blankly.
'A man's body is so beautiful.'
It was when she wiggled her fingers, wanting to grab it just once. Aileen felt a different texture than the smooth skin she had touched so far.
The moment she identified the nature of the foreign texture, her head turned cold as if she had been splashed with cold water. Aileen grabbed his uniform jacket. Then, she opened it completely to both sides.
"Ah..."
Cesare's body was covered in scars. Scars from being cut by a sword, scars from being shot, and even scars that looked like whip marks.
Aileen touched each of the scars that stained his body with trembling hands. Her nose soon tingled. She bit her lip tightly, but before long, her eyes welled up with tears.
"I didn't mean to make you cry like this."
Her heart ached with distress, but Cesare, the person involved, acted as if it were nothing. He took off his uniform jacket and picked up Aileen. He held her like a child, supporting her buttocks, and kissed her tearful cheeks.
"Don't cry, Aileen."
Aileen hugged his neck. She sobbed, trying to hold back her tears, then suddenly lifted her head and met his eyes with a flash of thought.
"Show me the bottom too."
Perhaps his lower body was covered with even worse scars. Thinking about whether there was a way to prevent the Imperial Army's commander-in-chief from going to war, Aileen urged him.
Cesare gave a slightly embarrassed smile but obediently followed Aileen's command. He sat Aileen on the bed and unbuckled his belt. The metallic sound echoed in the quiet room.
He took a step towards Aileen and asked.
"Do you really want to see?"
"Yes! Quickly."
It was a little burdensome because his crotch was right in front of her, but she answered firmly. And immediately regretted it.
"...?"
Cesare slowly took off his lower garments, including his underwear. Aileen's eyes gradually widened as she saw what was revealed next. When it fully revealed its identity, Aileen rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
Suddenly, her tears disappeared completely. Suddenly, Aileen remembered what had happened in the brick house. That day, Cesare had tormented Aileen a lot, but he himself had done nothing. He had clearly said this at that time.
"I don't want to scare you."
He smiled meaningfully, as if he had something that would make her run away before the wedding...
Aileen stared at the wriggling center with a pale face. Although she hadn't touched it with a single fingertip, it grew on its own with Aileen's gaze and raised its head.
"Why, now that you see it, you don't like it?"
Cesare laughed with a languid groan.
"You said you wanted to see it, Aileen."
